NEWS

Protein helps old blood age the brains of young mice

Old blood can prematurely age the brains of young mice, and scientists may now be closer to understanding how. A protein located in the cells that form a barrier between the brain and blood could be partly to blame, experiments on mice suggest.

Rejuvenating our cells can make them more prone to cancer

Life hides a disturbing paradox. The body deteriorates inexorably with the passage of time and death is an irreversible event. However, some of our cells, even though we have been in our thirties, can come together to form a new being with all our life ahead of us. For years, scientists have been spying on nature to try to decipher the keys of this trick and be able to turn back the clock of our cells.

Young, resting neural stem cells have large protein clumps often associated with neurodegeneration. As stem cells age, the aggregates inhibit their ability to make new neurons, Stanford researchers say.

Stem cells express genes differently in the lab dish than in the body

The Stanford research suggests that any conclusions about stem cell function based on studies of stem cells in lab dishes may now need to be reconsidered in light of the fact that the cells’ biology changes during isolation.